The legacy of Storybrooke, the SwanQueen & Henvy finale
by Lonly Wanderer
Summary: Reimagining of the end of OUAT, except with a Swan Queen/Henvy twist. Sister story to Return to Storybrooke, but closer to canon in terms of events that happened during season 7
1. Chapter 1

Now I'm sure some of the people who read this will know I did another epilogue type thing a few months back. Now that the story has been fully told I'd like to have another go of doing my own thing with it. Return to Storybrooke is I suppose the sister story to it as both have similar areas and background information, the difference being RtS was written while still mid season, so has no connection to the end of the series, as I'd always expected it to, while Legacy is written with me knowing everything that has happened and playing it how I see fit. Also this had a chance of being a one shot but I wasn't able to finish it all in the time I set myself, that being my birthday, so it's now a 3 shot, rewriting the last 3 episodes of the series. So without further adieu…

The legacy of Storybrooke, the SwanQueen & Henvy finale – Is this Henry Mills?

 _Jacinda and Henry feel a tension in the air, stepping close their lips touch…. And nothing. No rainbow pulse, no spark, no bolt of magic, F***ing nothing!_ (This may look like I'm annoyed, but I'm really not, I'm glad they didn't share TLK, especially not in that scene)

'Hey guys Henry's heart's cured I don't want to miss… this' Lucy yells as she rushes in, but deflates at the end when she sees the two of them standing awkwardly close together 'Did I miss it?'

Henry coughs 'You didn't miss anything Lucy'

'But I did, you 2 kissed, but then why are we still cursed?' Lucy whines 'Why can't you remember us Henry, you're family's right here'

'Lucy' Jacinda warns, the kid wisely shutting her mouth, before running out to find Roni 'I'll deal with that, think you can see yourself out?' she asks Henry who nods. As she walks away from him Henry wonders if Lucy was right, if maybe he was cursed

It would sure explain why his chance of a romantic relationship shattered like glass after a single kiss

 _Roni's Bar_

'Well now you're boy-toy's fixed Henry, maybe you should use the magic to make a memory potion instead rather than an antidote'

Regina sighs 'Seriously, nothing happened, he's an old friend and I'd never jeopardise what I have with Emma over a silly affair' she explains tensely, glaring down at the device which now broadcasted her sister's maniacal cackling

'Oh don't I know it little sis, besides I'd have kicked your arse to Storybrooke and back if you'd tried. I claimed the spot of Emma's best friend years back, and even if I hadn't, she's my oldest friend as well as one of the few I have that I don't have because of you' Zelena says more seriously, to which Regina smiles 'Now get my nephew back and go kick Gothel's leafy arse'

Regina chuckles 'You got it green bean, now send wifie my love' she replies, ending the call just as Zelena whines ' _Hey! That's my job_ '. Regina smiles, Helena had been good for Kelly, and it seemed even better for Zelena

 _Later_

' _It didn't work'_ Regina thinks as she knocks back her drink _'It didn't fucking work'_ whatever Gothel did to curse Henry to forget is a lot stronger than on any others, given she used the same potion Ivy used to wake her up and it did fuck all. It was probably why she went along with Lucy's plan B: using the other Storybook to snap him free, which in theory made sense given the girl knew Emma held the book just before she believed… but as someone who had lived the story Regina knew that Emma had held and even read the book to try understand her son's delusion as she originally saw it, so she was actually less surprised when nothing happened after Lucy forced the book on him. It made her desperate, which was probably why she gave him the adoption records, it was her Hail Mary… well maybe there was something else. 'Only one more option' Regina clenches her fists, before swallowing her pride and making the call

'Well, well Regina didn't think you'd be calling me, like ever'

'I need your help'

'Sorry?'

'We've tried everything to make Henry believe, you're all I've got left' Regina hears nothing but silence, praying for once in her life that she'd catch a break

'I'll be there as soon as I can'

40 minutes later

'So that's everything' Regina explains, running her fingers through her hair as she groans tiredly

'So Ella, the potion, the book and basically yelling at him didn't work? Why do you think I'll be any better?' Ivy asks, playing with the straw of her drink

'Because I remember how you and Henry interacted, both as Roni and Regina. If there's anyone out there who can break through his shell and wake him up it's you, especially when we can't reach Emma due to the time travel issues we're facing' Regina answers 'By the way, why were you so comfortable with Henry?'

Ivy laughs 'I was immobile, not deaf. Seems you all thought me much more of a conversationalist when I was petrified, guess having a captive audience appealed to you all. Zelena showed up the first time to laugh at me, then later she talked about how she understood me, being the neglected child, even that if things had been different she knew Cora would have done the same as my mother did if you guys were fighting, blood magic and all that jazz'

Regina nods, after hearts Cora had been an expert in blood magic and its uses 'It does sound like mother, not that it matters, I asked about my son not my sister'

Drizella smirks 'True but it was a proof of concept, so you understood that Henry found it very therapeutic for him to vent his problems to his technical sister in law, especially after the little revelation he discovered, 6 years ago I believe' Regina's eye brow raises 'I believe the jist of those conversations were _'I can't believe they would do this… they were my friends and to betray me like that… going behind my back and lying about…. What would you do Drizella?'_ It actually amuses me sweet little Ella managed to fuck up such a lovely thing' at this she laughs 'Hey Regina, are you any good at blood magic?'

'Yes, it was one of the few things my mother and I overlap in' Regina answers, almost sounding insulted by the question itself

'Then you should already know, what she did to Lucy, what she did to Henry through Lucy' Ivy's tone darkens and a cruel smile forms when she sees Regina's reaction, or lack there of 'So you did know' she sounded almost amused 'That's a surprise, thought if he was telling me that meant mommy didn't know' she chuckles and empties her glass 'I guess you just never thought to confront her about it'

 _Henry's apartment_

He was really going to do it wasn't he. The very idea was insane, up there with Lucy's Curse theory, the idea that not only had Roni/Regina adopted him so his entire life was a lie, but they'd also gone back in time, so younger them were still going about their business as if nothing was wrong.

Still, the number was right there on the page in front of him, taunting him, why did he take the pages with him; he should have thrown them in her face and just walked off. But he didn't and now here he was, typing them into his phone and waiting for what was to come

'Hello?'

Henry grips the table as his mind starts burning, memories overlapping and pushing themselves to the forefront, memories of Roni in a pantsuit with fire in her hands, Detective Rogers in black leather and a silver hook, Wea…Gold in a suit and cane, with Belle on his arm and Gideon babbling in his buggy, Emma… 10 year old him showing up at his ma's doorstep to bring her home and break their curse.

After that the floodgates opened: Dragons, Neverland, Peter Pan, The missing year, Zelena making an entrance that only a Mills can, becoming The Author, gaining aunts in Mal, Aurora and Mulan, even Ursula and Cruella and an extended family in Lily and the twins, Issac's warped story, Emma becoming the Dark One, Camelot, the Underworld, his moms falling in love, the wedding of the lifetime, fighting the Black fairy, becoming a big brother for the energetic little brat that is Hypatia Korra Swan-Mills, the very graduation night he was ringing on, setting off on his adventures, travelling between realities and writing their stories, right up until he found his way to Ella's Enchanted forest.

'Hello? Anyone there?'

Henry blinks before remembering what he was doing 'Is this Henry Mills?'

'Yeah, who's calling?'

'I'm… ugh, a friend of your mothers' Henry answers, still a little tripped out

'Oh you're calling about the Graduation, we've moved it to Granny's, easier for everyone' Young Henry explains

'It's your graduation'

'Yeah…. Um are you a friend of Mom's from work I don't recognise your voice and she doesn't have a lot of male friends, should I bring you to her?'

'No. I just called to congratulate you'

'Oh, thanks'

Henry swallows 'So, what's next?'

'Well…'

'…You're having doubts' Henry supplies, not needing to see the nod

'Yeah. I told Mom it was because I didn't want to lie about who I am… but really its hard letting this place go, it's literally all I've known my whole life. This place, it just doesn't want to let go, and you don't really want it to' both Henry's laugh

'Don't I know it. Hey can I give you some advice, which was given to me when I was your age?' Henry took his younger self's silence to be a yes 'Home isn't a place, it's the people in it that matters, and they will be with you no matter where you go'

'Who'd you say this was again?'

'I didn't, because it's not important. I'm just someone who believes in you, just like you did your moms… well maybe not that much Mr. Truest Believer' Henry answers, tearing up a little as he hears Storybrooke Regina on the other end from somewhere within the mansion. Henry gives his goodbyes

'Good luck and have fun at your party. Oh and Henry, when you open your gifts, don't forget the tiny one that fell behind the dresser' he smiles and hangs up, knowing his past self would be confused and go check, finding the friendly and gentle giant's going away present: a magic bean.

The door knocks and Henry turns, his head still processing as he opens and the brunette on the other side runs in 'Henry' she gasps

'Drizella' he replies, to which she shakes her head

'Ivy. Ivy's the side that was your friend, the side you saw when we first met and that I wish I could have been. Drizella was a monster; Ivy was a chance at true happiness'

At this Henry chuckles 'Rumple was right about you being just like Regina' he says with a smile 'What are you doing here?'

'Regina called, everything else failed so she decided to let me try wake you up. She still hates me, but apparently can hold off murdering me long enough for me to try wake you up, probably because Gothel's a bigger issue than one of the idiots she used as a puppet, at least for the moment'

Henry nods 'Okay, well you can tell Regina I'm fine, I found my own way to wake myself up, with a little help from her of course' he smiles but notes Ivy hadn't moved 'What?'

Ivy smiles and rolls her eyes 'You really think I'd give up this opportunity just because you're awake, it might actually work better now' she grins before surging forward, wrapping her arms around his neck as her lips find his, the rainbow pulse noticeable throughout Hyperion Heights. When they separate Henry notices the violet rings in Ivy's eyes

'You broke your curse?' he asks to which she grins almost drunkenly

'No Henry, WE broke Gothel's curse' she kisses his cheek before turning on her heel 'Now come on Hen, we have a sprite to torch' the writer taking a moment to get his thoughts together before following the young mage out as fast as his longer legs could take him.

 _At the battle_

'You really thought a bat would be able to harm me Regina, never mind stop me?' Gothel asks with a sneer, having shattered the bat with her magic before Regina even had a chance to _try_ hitting her (Speaking of which, TV Regina appeared to look like she though Gothel was a Vampire, given she seemed ready to stake the bitch through the heart with what was left of her bat)

'Honestly it's kind of all I had, no magic and Weaver isn't exactly passing out guns to bar owners' Regina answers, snark flowing like normal if nothing else, it made the vines slamming into her ribs and gut worse though and they flung her right across the clearing, her blurry eyes missing the pulse of magic as well as Gothel's angry yelling, but the magic turning hers back on she certainly did feel _'Maybe I'm not going to need that gun after all'_ she thinks with a tiny smile

'Oy bad mama, eat this' Gothel turns to see Ivy enter the area, hand already lit and firing essentially a flamethrower at the witch, but she deflects it rather easily with her magic.

'That really the best you can do darling? Always a disappointment indeed' Gothel taunts as Ivy dodges more vines, Henry rushing over to help Regina to stand

'Mom!' he embarrassingly squeaks as he holds her close, Regina sniffles and leans into his larger frame

'My boy, you're back' she grins widely despite tears 'But we have bigger problems, Gothel trying to end the world being the main one, then maybe we can talk about you and Miss Belfry breaking the curse the old fashioned way' her eyes flash and her signature fireball forms in her hand which she tosses at the irritating nymph, who bats it aside like it's nothing annoying the former Evil Queen. (We all know angry Regina still refers to herself as EQ, especially given this one married the dark one, is friends with the Queens of Darkness and even is godmother to some of their kids. She's still got the Darkness happily bubbling inside is what I'm saying)

Unfortunately being a lot older, more powerful and more experienced than her opponents, Gothel was basically walking through the 2 mages, right until a bolt of magic slams into her spine and pierces her heart. For someone filled with such hatred of humans and paranoid in every way, she never expected to be quite literally stabbed in the back by another nymph. Turning slowly she sees Alice standing there with Gold, Robyn and Rogers, the normally happy and quirky blond glaring angrily at her

'Tilly, how could you? Betraying your own mother'

'My name is Alice! You aren't my mother, I don't got a mother, all I got is my papa. You are the reason him standing this close to me is killing him, all because he's too bloody protective he wouldn't let me come face you alone, forgetting I wouldn't be alone, I had Robyn, Regina and even Henry and Drizella fighting to take you down. Goodbye Gothel, it's time you learn love is stronger than hate, always will' she smiles, squeezing Robyn's hand in her own as both nymph's magic's mixing strongly and erratically before transforming the dark witch into a gnarled twisted tree.

 _Later_

Gold was pissed, someone was taking his things again and that possessive nature was something that remained in him even after he lost the main brunt of the Dark One's powers, as well as his habit of planning bloody vengeance on all who cross him. This was why he was on the warpath heading to the home of Samdi, once again under the title Dr. Facillier given the curse was broken. With his magic he breezed through any security with ease until he reached the witch Doctor's office/study and the object he held closest to his heart: Not his dagger but the scrapbook of his and Belle's globetrotting and World hopping adventures, the light of his life now more than ever with the woman herself gone from his reach.

'I've tried Belle, so hard…' he mumbles, stroking a photo of her smiling at him '…but I don't think I'm going to find my way back to you my love' a tear tries to escape but remains, causing his eyes to shine

'No, I don't think that you will, Dark One' Gold turns as Facillier enters the room, looking a little too pleased with himself after irritating Rumplestiltskin 'How nice of you to pay me a visit'

'Nobody takes what's mine and gets away with it' Gold growls, his magic reaching out and forming something akin to a noose around the other man's neck 'Remember that with the curse broken you're not the only one with magic in the Heights' he sneers and wishes so hard he could snap the bastard's neck… but ultimately releases his hold, allowing the witch doctor to breath

'It's quite sad really, to see you become such a shadow of your former glory. Your fixation with reuniting with Belle has made you the worst version of yourself' Facillier sneers at the man before him, but grunts and falls to the ground, blood dripping from his mouth as well as the knife wound through his heart

'I'm rather offended by that, I'm clearly the worst version of me' Weaver stares up in shock as he sees Rumplestiltskin standing giddily in front of him, wiping his blade on Samdi's waistcoat 'Hello dearie'

TBC

LW: Well, that's all for now everyone, hopefully parts 2 and 3 will show up soon enough.


	2. Chapter 2

LW: I'm back, here's part 2 of this little ficlet. Sorry it took so long, got distracted as per usual.

The legacy of Storybrooke, the SwanQueen & Henvy finale – Homecoming

Henry twitched as he stood in Ella's apartment, he didn't really want to do this but it needed to be done, Ivy had even offered to come with him as a show of support, even given how much the sisters hate one another, though it was that reason that Henry told her no that he needed to do it himself. Luckily both him and Ella were able to keep things together while Lucy was in the room, it was when she left that things got difficult.

"So, you and the witch. Going to abandon us now?" Ella asks with a sneer

"You know that's not how things go, Ivy and I got on well and she's my true love, can you honestly say we got on well while under the curse"

"So you're just going to leave me to raise our child alone while you gallivant with your new beau?"

Henry sighs "1: No I'm not abandoning Lucy, even if 2: she's your daughter not mine, at least in the way most fairytale world look at it"

"That's just the curse talking, Lucy is yo…"

"It was the one thing the curse did right, Lucy is yours and Nick's daughter, he even told me about it when he kidnapped me" Henry says interrupting Ella

"You can't believe him, Nick was a psychopath"

"No, Nick was a good person, Jack was my best friend, Hansel was a psychopathic witch hunter, who need I remind you tried to kill my aunt. The problem is that you clearly think that because of that, so will Lucy"

"No she won't, you are her father"

"No, I'm not, I'm the idiot who's been disciplining the kid neither of you bothered to do so with. Why was it so important you made it look like she was mine anyway? Why did you even have a kid when you weren't going to have anything to do with raising her right?"

"You were the one who wanted a child, a family, not me. But even then, the kingdom needed an heir; you married me but didn't provide me the child I needed so I found somewhere else."

"Then we could have adopted…"

"That's not how it works, the child needs to be our blood, or they would not be able to hold the title"

"Then use the same thing you did to Lucy to the kid, except for both of us"

"And when they learnt of the deception the people would rebel and remove us from their position"

Henry groans "Seriously? That's all? You were the Queen, you literally had complete control of the rules in the kingdom, mom has previously stated if we ended up in the Enchanted Forest once more or even if we had when the first curse broke, I would have been her primary heir regardless of my lack of a blood connection to her"

"Well that's fine in Storybrooke but that isn't how our kingdom worked"

"Well you could have fixed it yourself"

"You the one who wanted a baby so badly, it's not my fault you couldn't get it to work"

"You know what…" he stopped just before Lucy came in all sunshine and rainbows, clearly thinking everything was just fine and dandy

"Hey guys, I got these cupcakes the other day for when broke the curse, they're not as good as Sabine's but they should do" Lucy chirps as she brings them over to the counter, having also retrieved some birthday candles on the way "Time to make a wish, now the curse is gone and magic is back"

Henry smiles at the energetic girl, seeing more and more of Hansel in her face as he watches "Sure kiddo, let's do this"

' _I wish I had a little peace in my life'_

' _I wish Henry would forget about this and Drizella and just come back to us'_

' _I wish my family was together again, properly'_

Together they made their wishes, but when the candles went out only Henry was standing in the apartment

'Fuck, where'd they go?'

'You're not going to find them in this realm dearie' Henry turns and sees a giggling Rumple standing behind them

'Rumple?'

'Hello dearie. 3 selfish wishes from 3 selfish humans. But what else do you expect?' Rumple cackles madly

'Selfish? All I wanted…'

'Was peace' the dark one interrupts 'But you know that's not how the world works, things aren't all sunshine and rainbows because we ask for it, if you want peace the mayhem goes somewhere else, wrecking other people's lives. I'm sure you at least believe that you've earned a little peace after all these years my boy, but you're not the kind of man to let others suffer for your happiness. Then we get to the child, all she wanted was for her family to be whole once more… too bad kiddo, magic can do much but dead is dead'

Henry chuckles despite himself 'I should have realised you'd know, but how?'

Rumple gave a frown that looked like he wanted to face palm 'Well besides listening to this entire argument between you and your former lady love, I could sense the poorly done blood magic practically billowing from the girl the moment I entered this realm. Speaking of, the caster of said terrible curse work, hers was the worst, she wanted you to forget, about both Lucy's parentage as well as your real True Love, for everything to go back to before you knew you were raising someone else's bastard for her' the grin returned when he sees Henry's fists clench in anger 'Now I know you're quite annoyed, but I also know you're too much of a hero to not save them out of spite, too much like your birth mother I suppose. There's a very simple way for you to get them back from me, that being the Dagger your Rumplestiltskin wields, bring it to me and we make an exchange. Until then they will be safe and sound in my realm, but that doesn't mean you should dilly dally' he gives an oddly shark like smile before disappearing in a plume of smoke, once more leaving Henry alone in Jacinda's apartment.

 _Evidence/The gang's secret meeting spot_

"My double… is an idiot" Gold sighs, a bitter chuckle escaping his lips

"How, getting your dagger combined with his, it would make him practically unstoppable?" Hook asks, not seeing whatever flaw the former Dark One did

Gold doesn't initially respond with words, raising his hand and letting the dagger fly through the air into his hand (like Thor, or Cicada, the 2nd one at least more appropriate as both are jagged daggers) then slamming the black blade onto the table "In theory what he wants makes sense, except the dagger in front of me isn't the same as his"

Henry's fists clench and Regina facepalms, how did they both forget? "Emma"

"Correct, this dagger may be the focus and repository of my power, but it's not the genuine article, the REAL Dark One Dagger, that is in the possession of Ms Swan in our time"

"So does that mean we need to get it from Emma?" Ivy asks, not looking forward to it, even just based on stories and hearsay

"No, it's Rumple's dagger, he didn't say the Dark One, he said him in particular" Henry clarifies

"Then what's the point, if he's not the Dark One then there's an obvious power gap between Weaver and Crocodile, so why does he want the dagger?"

"It could be because Rumple has been trying to give up what magic he has, searching for the Guardian and that could have consequences that affect more than just him" Regina guesses, causing her mentor to smile slightly

"The Wish Realm: an entire reality forged from a genie's wish, given by you to deal with Miss Swan. We know it can't do anything to our realm, as both Charmings are still alive and kicking, to your annoyance every few months" he pauses as he knew nobody would hear him over Regina's growl "But, what if what happens in Our Realm effects the Wish Realm, so if I was to relinquish my powers…"

"Bye bye Dark One" Ivy finishes, getting a nod from the man "Now I understand his panic. We're still going to go over there and kick his ass right?"

"Oh there's no doubt about that" Regina answers almost instantly "We're not letting his get away with this or any of the other things he's done today. We're going to the Wish Realm, kicking his ass, getting Lucy and Ella back and going home"

"Where the conquering Queen is wrapped up in her lover's strong arms and ravaged throughout the night" Gold snarks, grunting when Regina slaps him "We just need a way into the Wish Realm"

"I think I may be able to facilitate that" Hook says, standing up and running out of the room

 _Little later – Troll statue_

'Alice had one mirror still around, but as you can see…' Hook begins, pulling out a mirror with a crack straight down the mirror '…Our crocodile appeared to have gotten to it first. Will this be a problem?'

'I don't think so, the mirror's still intact, just damaged' Weaver placates, though like Regina and to a lesser extent Drizella he could sense the magic in the mirror, so knew it would at least work as designed… for the most part

'Well let's go then, Ella's not my favourite sister, but I still would prefer her and Lucy not be left at the mercy of the Dark One' Ivy says, stepping forward, Henry nodding in agreement

'Well Gold, are we going yet or not?' Regina asks impatiently

'Calm yourself Regina, running headfirst into the Dark One's lair is not a good plan'

'Except it's our only plan' Henry interjects, Weaver not arguing before laying the mirror down and activating it, forming a portal which they all step through

 _Wish Verse – Rumple's castle_

Regina, Henry and Ivy drop through the portal, finding themselves in a dungeon, not exactly where they'd planned to end up but at least they were still all together, albeit missing Weaver and Hook.

"Well this is a surprise" a voice sounds from the darkness, amusement nearly able to be tasted in the air. The trio turn and only Regina grabbing him stopped Henry lunging at the man child in front of them

"Pan!"

"Am I supposed to know you?" Peter asks, now clearly enjoying himself "All that anger, it feels personal after all"

"Henry" Regina hisses "He's not our Pan, what you're about to do is pointless"

Henry grunts but nods "Would've been nice to punch his lights out though"

"Probably" Regina concedes then turns to the ageless boy "What happened to this land?"

"My son did, he never forgives and never forgets. I'd keep out of his sight if I were you your highness" Pan sneers

"What did the other you do?" Ivy asks, to which Regina shrugs

"No clue, she had skipped town before I went looking for Emma to get her home" Regina admits "Given there's no Wish realm Emma, on account of that Emma being OUR Emma I don't know what makes me so hated, well more than everyone else I mean"

Henry nods "It doesn't matter, let's find Ella and Lucy and get the hell out of this place" he suggests, the others agreeing and beginning the search for the 2.

 _With Gold and Hook_

"The mirror is fine you said, there will be no problems you said. This looks like a bloody problem" Hook yells, while Gold's expression was a mixture of annoyance and oddly enough disinterest

"He's messing with us, this is my old home, or I suppose his old home, back before we had power. Back when I was just a coward. He's pushing buttons and manipulating things in his favour, but I'm not backing down any time soon, are you captain?" he finally speaks, the pirate shakes his head with a grim expression

"No, we're skinning this crocodile, no question. But we can't just run at him, you've already done that and failed, so we need to play this smart"

"And how do you suppose we do that?"

 _Hook's secret Cave_

Gold frowns as he pulls up a chair "So, where's this solution of yours, because if it's get drunk and charge in the hope of a quick death, that's not going to work, I know from experience"

Hook actually stopped to process the man's statement for a moment, before ignoring it and retrieving a conch shell from one of the crates "I really hope she comes, or we're back to square one" he mumbles to himself then blows into it. Luckily they didn't have long to wait before Ariel jumps out of the water, onto a nearby rock

"Hook you're back" he grins widely, then panics when Gold turns in response to her voice, luckily he had turned his trident into a fork before she could pointless attempt to skewer him with it

"Can you explain to the mermaid what's going on, we don't need friendly fire around here, there's few enough of us on this rescue mission as it is"

Hook nods "I'm on it" then proceeds to explain to Ariel all the relevant details, mostly what's happened today and what they plan to do about it. Ariel was happy to give them what little squid ink she had, given it was for the goal of ridding their world of the Dark One, once and for all.

 _Rumples Castle_

"Hello darling"

"Well, there goes the magical equivalency theory" Regina groans, of all the villains it had to be the sociopathic one, Cruella looked as off her rocker as she had when she'd last seen the woman, minus her broken and slightly charred body after Emma had finished with her "Though I'm surprised to see you being Rumples minion, you were always the independent one, minus the occasional Queens of Darkness team-up so to speak"

Cruella sneers "I'm nobodies anything, but I was promised a few nice furs in exchange for killing whoever comes knocking while Rumple is off doing whatever Dark One's do when not here" he eyes then find Henry, then slowly pan up and down, her lips curl into a grin "Then again, maybe we can work something out. You always played with the dragon darling and this one, I'm sure I can get him to roll over. What you say love?" she bats her eyelashes and Regina resist the urge to gag

"Back off bitch he's mine!" Cruella dodges a fireball aimed at her face by possessive Ivy

"Um, thanks Ivy, and on that note, I don't do crazy, so I'll give it a hard pass" Henry answers, ignoring the muttered 'could have fooled me' from Cruella herself

"Well in that case, time to die" the dual toned woman states, drawing a sword… because guns aren't a thing in this realm I guess, and both witches move to strike but Henry waves them off, pulling a sword from a suit of armour

"I got this, though I didn't expect her to actually know how to use that"

"If you'd just played along you could have found out just how good I am with a sword" Cruella flirts, then goes straight for a killing blow, which Henry blocks and counters back and forth until her manages to disarm the dogcatcher, who understandably panics when he presses his blade to her throat

"A heroic and dashing man like yourself wouldn't harm an unarmed woman would you?"

"I wouldn't, but them? Yeah they probably would" Henry admits, pointing back to Regina and Ivy the former poofing Cruella into a cage before the latter could flame grill her

"Now, since we've proved we're not playing around maybe you can tell us where Rumple is keeping Lucy and Ella, preferably before we have to start breaking things"

"We could do it anyway" Ivy suggests unhelpfully, smirking at the captive villain

"Fine, those 2 are in the dungeons, where else would you freaking expect?" Cruella replies with a sneer "Though I'll tell you this for free, finding them and freeing them, are worlds apart in difficulty"

"Well we already crossed worlds to get here, no reason to stop now" Henry says before Regina leads them down into the dungeons.

 _A little later_

"Oh God, Lucy, Ella!"

Ivy raises an eyebrow "Hm, didn't know this world had snow globes" she teases, tapping the glass separating them from the captive duo

"Ivy, try to take this seriously" Regina scolds, falling back into parental mode easily despite the time gap.

"Dad you arrived just like Mom said you would, here to rescue us and reunite our family, together forever" Lucy grins widely and the 2 witches feel sorry for the kid, not her fault her mom is lying to her, they also couldn't help noticing the grimace on Ella's face when she saw Ivy, the difference in size not helping in this case.

"Nice to see you finally show up dearie" the 3 look up as Rumple steps out of a corner of the dungeon "You wanted some peace and quiet, now all your problems are a lot smaller, and I'm sure Miss Tremaine over there would have no trouble finding a cupboard to store it, or a window to drop it out of" he hides his mouth from Henry, then turning slightly toward Ivy and Regina before saying that last part

"If you magiced them in, we can magic them out" Regina says with a confident smirk, which falters with Rumples wagging finger

"Not so fast dearie, this orb is unbreakable, the window thing was a joke. The only way they're getting out is with MY magic, and the only reason I'm going to do that is if you have the dagger of your Rumpelstiltskin. So do you have what I want, or not?" he cackles "Of course you don't, because you tried to cheat, and nobody breaks deals with me. So you've only got yourself to blame"

Henry sighs as he hunkers down to get eye level with Lucy and Ella "Don't worry, we will find a way to get you out"

Rumple makes a noise best described as an angry lizard "Maybe you will, maybe you won't, but the real question is, will you find it in time?" he flashes them a smirk as he taps the very top of the dome, snow beginning to fall heavy inside "Think you can set them free before Midnight my boy? Because that's how long you have before the globe fills with snow and they both die"

"You had to say snow globe didn't you?"

"I didn't think he'd actually do it" Ivy squeaks defensively as the Dark One leaves them to their troubles

Several magical blasts, fireballs, lightning, and Ivy even tossing the thing down the stairs (neither of the others were talking to her after that incident) they were running out of methods to get the two out of the ball, and the miniature snowstorm was just getting worse. It was this den of hopelessness Gold and Hook entered

"I'm going to assume you're not doing too well in rescuing Henry's former beau and kid" Regina's death glare was the answer "Precisely my point. This isn't going to work, if we want to undo the magic that made this, we're going to have to go after it's originator, we need to aim for this Rumplestiltskin directly"

"And how do you suppose we do that, he's stronger than all of us combined"

"So was Gothel, and we beat her"

"Well I doubt this Rumple has a Bealfire or a Gideon willing to stab him in the back, with or without his dagger" Gold retorts

"Yes, but where there's a Pan, there's also a Fiona" Henry suggests, the former Dark One grimacing

"While technically correct, we don't have the time to try summon the Black Fairy on the off chance she'll help us. She's not exactly cordial to any of us where we come from, never mind this Wish Realm"

"Nyx likes me" Regina pipes in

Gold waves her off "My sister's taste in women shelved and hopefully ignored forever, we are on a time limit which can not be wasted summoning something potentially worse than what we're already facing" He then reaches into his pocket and pulls out a clam shell "The Captain and I didn't just take the scenic route here, we may just have a way to deal with this Rumple. I suggest you sit tight and hope this works, cause we're probably not getting another shot like this" he then turns on his heels and walks back out.

"Are we really going to let him go against the Dark One alone?"

Regina scoffs "Of course not, I'll make sure my teacher survives this little confrontation" she moves for the stairs then stops "If this castle is anything like the one from our realm there's a library that makes up an entire wing of the building, something in those books has to work on that damn globe… so find it" The 2 remaining members of the group nod and scramble to find the library, Henry carrying the snow globe with him as they do

 _The cottage from earlier_

Gold sighs as he stops the spinning wheel "This place was hell in every universe isn't it" he thinks aloud

"Pretty much dearie" he didn't know why he was surprised to hear Rumple's voice answer, but turned slowly to see the man standing by the steps, watching him with reptilian eyes "But after all this time, you still seem determined to put us back here, powerless and weak. Might want to break the other leg this time"

Gold's expression doesn't change, he just takes a step closer to his double "I'm not here to revisit or repeat the mistakes of the past"

Rumples smirks and nods "I know, because I'm you and you're me, so I know how you think. After over 300 years as the Dark One you can't help looking for loopholes, in this case a way to save your grandson's friend and child, without paying the price I gave him"

Gold hums and runs his hand along the wheel, how long had he spent nights using it, making more gold than even an immortal such as he couldn't spend "It seems you're not as knowledgeable on your own mind as you think" he flashes a smirk when he sees the dark one twitch in annoyance "That's not the loophole I desire"

"Oh really, pray tell, what do you want then?"

Gold sighs deeply before he begins "When I was given this version of the dagger I was happy, the call of my magic intoxicating, but then I found other things and the true side effects were made apparent and shoved in my face. So I started looking for a way to rid myself of it's curse, the problem is every time I tried give it up, do the right thing, pass it on to an innocent, it didn't feel right. The Dagger corrupts, even this lesser version, and inflicting it on someone good and pure of heart, that was never going to sit with me"

Rumple chuckles as he sits, curious as to where this was going "You've certainly got yourself stuck there, the point being…"

Gold points to his darker twin "The point is, that you want the Dagger, you still love its power and its darkness, probably always will given I don't see a Belle or even a Cora around this realm. And in passing it to you, I'm not inflicting it on someone, I'm not spreading it like the plague some see it as, I'm actually reducing the number of Dark Ones, condensing the problem." Gold continues, the Dark One appeared interested "I think, you're exactly what I've been looking for all this time"

Rumple smiles and stands getting closer to his double "So you're just going to hand it over? What changed? Hmm"

Gold shrugs "I just came to the realisation, the one enemy I can't beat, is myself and that's been my problem this entire time" he then reaches into his coat and produces his dagger, the black blade raising the eyebrow of the Dark One "So, you take the dagger and all that comes with it" he offers "And I finally get my freedom and the happy ending I deserve after all these centuries"

Rumple hums "Well, it's not exactly how I imagined this playing out but I'll take it" eagerly grabbing the handle and pulling the dagger from Gold, only for his body to seize up

Gold laughs "All this time as the Big Bad Dark One has made you complacent Rumple. Squid ink, I know it won't hold you for more than a minute or 2, but that's more than enough time for me" he pulls the dagger from his fingers, wiped the ink off with a cloth "Coming back here, it's reminded me of what I was, before and without Belle, a monster who should have been put down a long time ago, and I'm going to do just that"

"You kill me and all that Darkness will return to you, nestle in your tattered soul. You will never be reunited with your sweet Belle again" Rumple spits

Gold nods solemnly "And if that's the price for ridding the Realms of you, I will pay it. That was the man Belle loved, the man she found inside the Beast, and that will ensure this moment was worth it" he raises the dagger aiming for the crocodile's heart

Unfortunately for him Regina chooses this moment to enter the cottage "Rumple"

"Regina stay out of this" he yells, but the moment is gone, the Dark One is free and he knocks Regina out with minimal effort. Gold goes for the stab anyway but tendrils of magic coil around his throat

"Oh Rumple, the dagger was never why I wanted the boy here. I've given you all the hints I thought you needed, but I guess we're going down memory lane anyway. Remember the battle, where we hobbled ourselves? We met a seer and she gave us a prophecy"

"The boy will be my undoing" Gold wheezes

"Yes, that one. And that prophecy is about to be fulfilled" he giggles and poofs away, only then is Gold able to breath properly

' _Well, that could have gone a lot better'_

 _The library_

Book after book of useless information, Henry groans and pushes them off the desk, nearly snapping the quill between his fingers… when an idea crosses his mind "I think I've got it" he stands, catching Hooks attention "I think I know how we can save them without giving him the dagger"

Hook slams his book shut and drops it on the table "Then let's go lad"

Henry frowns "I'll be fine on my own"

"But you don't have to, besides your mother will kill me if I leave you alone in this realm" the last part was muttered as he turns, missing Henry pick up the candle stick, until it slams into the back of his head

"Yeah no. Besides if you knew where I was going, you'd probably try stop me" he sighs, feeling bad but he would apologise later

"Are you going to knock me out next?" Henry swears, he'd been so focused on Hook he'd forgotten she was even still with them, Ivy rested the book on her lap and stares into his eyes, awaiting a response

Henry drops the candlestick "I don't want to do any of this, but I have to do this and it needs to be alone. Please just let me go, this might be the only way to save your sister and her daughter" the witch stands and kisses him, then grabs him by the shirt so he was looking her in the eye

"You better come back Mills, or there will be more than one witch after your cute ass cause I'm not covering for you if Regina asks what happened" Henry gulps and nods, at which point Ivy lets him go, brushes some dust off his shoulder and smiles "Then good luck and come back to me, we're on a deadline love, I'll keep looking here and get Sleeping beauty to help when he comes to"

Henry gapes for a moment before kissing her forehead "Thank you Ivy, don't let anyone ever tell you you're anything less than he best" he calls before running out, the brunette grins with rosy red cheeks

 _The Apprentice's cottage – a little later_

"I'm not here to fight, or to rob you, I'm here for the Author's pen" [Ha, jokes on you I don't use a pen Bwahahaha] Henry explains to the blind man currently poking him with a sword

The apprentice wavers for a moment before speaking "I'm afraid I should warn you, that pen is a dangerous thing, in the right hands it's power is absolute"

"I know all about it, and I don't care" Henry admits, not the best thing to say but he's kind of desperate

"Well I do, I've fought for so long protecting it, that you're going to need to do more than ask for it to get it from me" he grouses, walking past Henry to the chairs already set up outside his home "I will only give it to a True Author" he states plainly "And we haven't had one of those in this land for a VERY long time"

"That's just the thing, I'm not from this land. It's too complicated to explain…" even blind the apprentice is giving him a 'really' look "…but in another land I am the True Author. I don't have much time so whatever test you need to perform, let's skip right to that"

The apprentice hums before nodding "Very well" he sighs, placing his hand on Henry's heart, reviewing Henry's life story so to speak "That is indeed a long and complicated story" the apprentice swallows "Trying to explain the timelines and family trees alone would make someone's head spin (Very true, which is why you just have to roll with it, or don't drop people in the deep end), only a True Author could weave such a tale" he sits, the magic getting to him

"So was that the test?" Henry asks, not having felt like he did anything himself

"Yes. You see every story an author writes lives in his heart [Then my heart is crowded with half formed mess]. You have done good work Henry Daniel Mills. Needs a little more romance in my opinion, but maybe that's what the next book is for, the foundation is laid already and could be a good read in the future" he smiles, liking what he saw of the man in front of him.

"So did I pass?" Henry asked, still a little confused

"You did, it has been an honour to meet you"

"Likewise" Henry smiles slightly "So where is the pen?"

"In it's rightful place, look in your hand"

Henry looks down and low and behold the pen he'd snapped years ago was back in his hand, he could actually feel the magic inside it "Really hope Nicolas Flamel doesn't sue for that" he jokes then stands to leave

"There is one more problem" the apprentice says, Henry's facial expression summed up as _'Oh come on'_ "You can't simply open an inkwell and remake the world, a very special kind of ink is required. Alas that, much like yourself, is not of this world. I'm sorry" Henry frowns before he realises exactly where to go next "And last my boy, remember the Author's job is to record, not shape history, you of all people know what it looks like when an Author abuses his power" Henry sighs, of course he knew about Isaac, if he'd read his life he knew what that man had done, how it affected his family "Use it wisely Henry, good luck" Henry nods and makes his way back to the castle.

 _Rumple's main room_

"Ah there you are Darling, come to let me go now those hellions aren't here to pull your leash?" Cruella teases as Henry enters the room

"No, you deserve what Mom did, and probably deserve that Ivy wanted to do, but that's not why I'm here" he holds up the Author's Pen "This here, needs a very special kind of ink to work it's magic, pretty hard to come across in these parts… except in one place" maybe he was more like his grandfather than he cares to admit, or maybe having the Dark One as a mother affects you even post birth but he smiles at the look of fear in her eyes as she tries escape the cage, opening the inkwell she magical ink is drawn out of her hair, taking her abilities as well as returning her to the blond she'd been before her initial run in with the author. His task complete Henry makes a run for it, ignoring whatever threats Cruella sent his way.

 _The Library_

Henry enters at a sprint, but stops when he notices, there was nobody here, just the orb now practically opaque with snow. Where were Hook and Ivy? They should still be looking for something to free Ella and Lucy

"I'll take that" even without looking he feels the Pen vanish from his tight grip, turning around he sees Rumple grin madly at him "And that" the globe vanishes in a flicker of light

"You weren't after the Dagger, you were after the Pen" Henry realises

"Correct, shame I don't have a prize for you" Rumple giggles

"Well good luck with that, it doesn't matter how powerful you are, only the Author can use it's power" Henry reminds him, not that Rumple needed that

"Oh I know, and lucky for me, I have one on standby" he waves his hand to the right and Henry's eyes widen

"Hello Henry, and I must say the clothes are rather common though at least you do have more of father in your face than I do at present" Prince Henry greets, his expression equal parts smile as sneer

"You're me, the Wish Realm me" Henry says numbly

"Correct. I'm sure there are quite a few differences between growing up in our respective realms, but the biggest one is… none of my wishes ever came true"

"And that's where I come in" Rumple smirks, waving the pen like a wand

"You made a deal with him" Henry says rather than asks, but the Prince nods anyway "When you said I wouldn't get my happy ending without you, you meant this Henry not me"

"Eh, semantics. You're Henry Mills, He's Henry Charming. Both the 1st born son of Emma Swan/White and Neal Cassidy. It's the best I could do" Rumple admits shrugging uncaringly

"How could you do this?" Henry asks, wanting to know how any version of him ended up like this

Prince Henry sighs deeply "I tried to do things the 'right' way, just like my grandparents and then my parents, but it just never worked. Do I not deserve some kind of happy ending? So I got desperate, and as often happens, the Dark One arrives, drawn to me like a moth to a flame"

"Well, that was fun. Now if we're all done with the introductions I believe we have a story to write. Mine" Rumple hisses, passing the pen to Prince Henry

 _A little later_

"Oh thank goodness Henry you're okay" Regina smiles as she rushes into the room ,then freezes when she see's the boy sitting in front of her between her and her son

"Hello your majesty. It's been a while since you killed my family with your bare hands, come back to finish the job?" Prince Henry ask with a formal tone

"In her defence, she didn't kill your mother, just brought her back to the realm she was supposed to belong to, ours" Gold argues

"Yes, in a very unroyal, cavewoman 'My woman, me take back to cave, make her put baby inside me' or something like that I never got the full story" Hook adds, though zips his lips at Regina's heated glare

"Oh that anger, that pain, bottled up and stewing isn't it glorious?" Rumple asks with a laugh, while Gold pales when he sees what's twirling between his fingers

"Where did you get that?" he asks, drawing everyone's attention to it

"The author's pen" Regina whispers

"Its my fault" they looks to Henry "I screwed up, I'm sorry for everything it's all my fault"

"You were going to use it to set them free" Regina gasps "Oh Henry"

Gold on the other hand was more focused on the prince "Listen to me, whatever deal you made with him, you don't have to honour it, there's always a way out, a loophole and I can help you find it"

Henry chuckles "Now why would I do that, when I'm about to get everything I wanted?" he asks

"Smart kid, I like this one dearie" Rumple grins "Now, we just need to attend to my needs and then you have free reign with the pen"

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm about to make sure one loophole is closed forever" Rumple sneers "We have immortality and power, and you want to throw it all away on the chance to see that little waif of a girl Belle again! Well with the stroke of a pen dearie, I'm going to make sure you never see her again"

Henry tries to convince his younger double, but the boy still impassively writes _**'The powers of The Guardian are no more'**_ , the magical pulse felt by all of them as the words were made fact.

"Thanks for that my boy, nice to feel, unstoppable again" The Dark One giggles then looks at the others with a smirk "Tata boys, Winter's coming early" he flicks his wrist and Gold, Hook and Henry all disappear in plumes of smoke, leaving just himself, Regina and Prince Henry.

"Where did you send them?" Regina asks coldly

"Why I just reunited Henry with his family, just not the way you all expected me to, stupid mortals"

Regina sneers "You appear to not fully know the definition of family, must be cause Fiona didn't catch you when you dropped out of her, but why am I still here then?"

"Because now we get to the important part" Prince Henry says, standing up "what **I** get out of this. You"

Regina coughs "1: Ek, 2: just because you're her son doesn't mean Emma won't break every bone in your lower body for touching me"

"It's been years since I watched you crush my grandparents hearts, and take my mom from me" Regina swallows, now things were getting serious "and that story stil hasn't gotten it's ending, so I'm going to fix it" he smirks, his grandfather's madness shimmering through

 _Hyperion Heights_

"So, this place looks nice, it's affordable and it's in a good part of the area" Robyn lists off, due to time travel issues they couldn't go back to Storybrooke so might as well look for a place to stay here with the rest of her family

"Very nice" Ana approves, Ivy having asked the 2 girls to watch her sister for her while she went off with the others

Alice hums, not looking up from her little art project "Don't care, as long as the bedroom comes with a Robyn its perfect"

"Just the bedroom?" the oldest Mills girl teases, then frowns when Alice tenses, clutching her chest "Alice, you okay?"

"No, something's wrong, very wrong. We need to get to the others in the Wish realm, right now" she practically falls out of her chair as she runs off, Robyn and Ana following close behind.

"Guys, I don't think there's anywhere near enough magic around here to open a portal" Sabine admits, feeling bad when she see's Alice's face drop

"But, as Queen, maybe you could try and see, maybe there's something, maybe someone has something" Robyn suggests

Sabine nods, sighing deeply "It's worth a shot kids"

Gathering everyone from the other Realm and with a little help from Nazeme Sabine managed to find something to help the girls: Remy from Regina's bar came forth with a magic bean, wanting to help the girls as well as the others who had done so much to help them. He was surprised by Alice's hug but smiled as he passed it on to her, the mad lash giggling as she skipped over to the benoit truck

"We may also need to borrow your ride" Robyn admits, having decided to leave that out until they actually had a way to get to the rest of her family. Tiana chuckles and after getting Nazeem out passed the keys to the slightly more responsible of the two

"Save our friends" she says, getting a nod from the girl

"Keep Ana safe, Ivy will kill me otherwise" she replies before jumping into the driver's seat, Alice throwing the bean to open the portal and they head to save the day… though not before getting some reinforcements. Robyn grins widely as she sees a sign she can't believe she missed, the sense of coming home soothing

 **ENTERING STORYBROOKE**

To be concluded

LW: I'll say this now, I'm pretty sure the start of this was a mess, mostly because I couldn't get the argument in my head to sound right, meaning there was little chance of it sounding write on screen. Sorry about that.

Also the problem isn't that Lucy isn't Henry's kid, given Regina raised him that would be a big middle finger to his mom; it's the secrecy fact she did cheat on him to have Lucy, then pretended she was his. Like with a lot of things, it's the secret itself that's more the cause of the anger than what's actually being kept.


End file.
